Gargoyle
by Mercury Sands
Summary: Something is attacking the vampires. It's methods are unorthodox, and Iscariat thinks hellsing is responsible. Will Alucard hunt it out, or will it hunt out Alucard? btw, Alucard now has an adoring fan. Oh no! My 1st fanfic, so be kind.
1. Default Chapter

The Abbey of Our Lady of the hill was once a tall erect building offering sanctuary to many. It had long since been out of use. Without the funding for repairs, and with the decline in Catholicism, the Abbey had collapsed on itself often. Despite its current state, there were those opposed to the move to demolish it. Many protestors rallied together to save their only local piece of history. Unfortunately, giant co-operations usually seem to get their way in legal battles, and this case was no exception. With the owner of the Land offering no support to the historical fanatics, and the funding of the property developers, all this dispute caused was legal costs and ill feeling, the locals had no chance. It was ruled that the Abbey could be demolished at will. The silhouette of the once sacred building had only hours left to grace the landscape. The early morning sun was already warming the air. A group of men wearing over warm blue boiler suits were crowded around the hood of a bright yellow JCB. Most of them held the obligatory cup of tea in their hand, and most of them had begun complaining about the heat. By noon most people would be hiding in shade, while they had the pleasant task of working on a construction site.  
"Okay people let's get it together." The commanding voice came from a surprisingly short individual in the centre of the group. He sprawled a large sheet of paper over the vaguely flat surface. "We all know the drill, 'we've got a schedule to keep to'. But this time I mean it, and it's tight, this aint gonna be no easy ride. So get prepared to work it. The first thing we've gotta do is get rid of this relic," he indicated the large ruin glaring imposingly down at them from the top of the hill. A light breeze brought a slight chill to the air, "so lets get to it!" There was a slight pause as everyone stared up at the cold walls of the old abbey, before jumping into action. Engines roared as demolition vehicles started creeping towards the lichen-covered stone.  
The decorative windows, well those left intact any way, were the first to go. Dark shards of painted glass sprayed everywhere. Next came the more sturdy arches covering them. Grey stone, powdering plaster, deteriorating mortar, once glorious paintings, carvings. All was shattered, none was saved. The formidable staring gargoyles that had graced the abbey long before it achieved that status were crumbled into non-existence. A pile of debris now replaced the derelict building.  
It was as the shadows were beginning to lengthen that the short man finally called a halt to the days destruction. "Clockin' out time boys." There were a few halfhearted cheers, but none of the workers really had the energy left to celebrate too vigorously. "See ya back here tomorra, bright and early." Some exhausted groans greeted his ears. Chuckling softly the man made his way to the sleek company car that waited for him at the boundary of the construction site. He pulled on a pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes from the red tinged gold glow of the setting sun as he drove home, and the car purred out of sight. He was proud of the days work, things were right on time.  
The mound of rubble sat silently on the hill. A gentle wind whispered through the remaining patches of luscious green grass. The glory of the sunset faded into the eerie pale of twilight, which quickly transformed into a night illuminated by the strong silver light of the full moon. It was while a cloud partially obscured the moon that a small pile of stones shifted slightly. In the dimmed light it might have seemed like a trick of the eyes to a passer by, but a deformed creature slowly forced its way through the heavy litter. It shook the sediments off its tough leathery exterior and stretched its pathetically stubby wings, reaching them as far away from its bumpy spine as possible, before folding them tightly at its sides. It was then that it noticed the scene around it, and it stared around bewildered.  
"Where did it go?" The poor being thought to itself. In terms of his kind he was still only a young child, and was totally lost in any new situation. "Why didn't the other gargoyles wake me? Why didn't they protect the abbey? Where is my home?" The creature curled its legs under himself and squatted, trembling. A dull ache of emptiness settled in its stomach. It had no place of belonging, nowhere it was bound to, nowhere to protect, and no family to comfort him.  
"Family," he thought suddenly, "if I'm still here, they have to be." It began wading through the large lumps of his former home in an attempt to search out his family. "Where are you?" He called softly. "I know you're here. You can come out now." He rummaged through the remains for about twenty minutes. Then his tough hand gripped something cold, something he recognized. "No!" he choked, "not Granite." His long, scaly fingers lifted a gnarled stone arm from the wreckage. "He was the wisest and strongest of us all." He thought sadly. "If he's gone then so are the others." The creature coiled itself around the limb and whimpered to himself. He felt empty, and terribly alone. The small creature stayed in this position until the pearly grey of early morning drifted over the hill.  
He sniffled dejectedly. "I s'pose I'd better find somewhere else to stay for the day?" He asked the stone arm forlornly. "Okay then, I will." The creature picked itself up and lumbered towards the small town below him, trailing the arm behind him like a baby blanket. He leapt easily over the high wire fence, looking any thing but graceful, clutching his comforter tightly. Once over the threshold of the site he stopped and looked behind him. He carefully spelled out the words printed in bold red type on a sign posted in front of it. "RedRooves family homes, a major new development." He pronounced slowly. "I get it." He glanced at the arm defeatedly. "We didn't wake up because this land didn't need protecting, it was wanted it this way." He sighed tiredly, and held a long stance staring back at the hill, silently saying sorry to the only home he ever knew. He adapted an old quotation of Granite's to suit the occasion. "Goodbye, Our Lady, who once stood proud atop this hill." He whispered softly, small droplets of quartz leaking from his lower eyelids. 


	2. Title is I'll think of one later

Erm, hiya everybody. I would've put the usual disclaimers n' stuff up on my last chapter, but I'm very, very new to this. You see, in getting every chapter up on fanfic, I have a major obstacle to overcome... I am the world's biggest technophobe! *hangs head in shame*. Yes people, it's awful, but until yesterday I had no clue what a floppy disc was! So I would like to say a big thank you to Anime the Fallen Angel for her continuing and patient work in combating this disease! All the usual disclaimers apply, to this chapter and the last, although Pug is a hybrid of my very own muses. Hands off!  
******  
The gargoyle yawned and clicked his knuckles as the sun began to set. He stoked the lifeless arm that he had determinedly carried with him to his new vantage point on top of the high school. He had spent the day there, cradling the stone close to his chest. It made an odd sight. For a start the gargoyle had alighted on possibly the most modern building in the town, not to complete the peculiar scene, the arm he clutched was only fractionally smaller than him. He stood up on his short muscular legs, and began scooting over the roof of every building in town. He might as well explore his surroundings.  
  
Alucard paced up and down in his cell. He was edgy. He wanted some action. His dead fingers closed around his gun, and he inspected it thoroughly. With his mistress away and Walter so careful he was completely bored. No missions to occupy his nights. Pointless even waking up. Only thing to do was to go watch the recruits. Yeah, that'll be fun. Watching human miscreants practicing missing their target? No thank you.  
"Alucard." Walter's clipped English accent rang through the underground walls.  
"Oh yeah, playtime." thought Alucard. He materialized silently in front of Walter. "Your orders?" His deep voice dripping with anticipation.  
Walter regarded the vampire scathingly. This was too enthusiastic for Alucard. "There have been reports of freak activity in the North Western area. A small town called Bankshail has been recording increasing numbers of missing people every night this week. I want you to go up there and check it out."  
"As you wish." Alucard's face tightened in what could be classified as a grin.  
Walter sighed. He preferred it when Arucard was more stone faced, and silent. In this state he had a tendency to be unpredictable. "I want you to take Miss Victoria as well." Walter ignored Alucard's growl of annoyance. "You can't be too careful." Alucard disappeared angrily.  
  
"It's a beautiful night, don't you think?" Seras had been trying to keep her spirits light for the last half hour, but with her master's despondent mood it was unrewarding work. Seeing her response would be absolutely nothing she lapsed into resigned silence and concentrated on tracking. She caught a faint whiff of death. Looking up at her master she saw he had smelt it too. A dangerous gleam came into his eye. "Let's go." He said.  
  
The gargoyle had been jumping over the low buildings when he saw some commotion down an alley. A pretty blonde was being eaten by two other people. Eugh! Is this what had happened while he was sleeping? People became cannibals? Hang on, these weren't people. They smelled different. They smelled stuck. Drifting between two conflicting existences. Not alive, not dead. So what were they? He watched as two heavily armed individuals came running down the alley. One was exceptionally quick, with a long red coat flailing behind him. He smirked down the alley and began firing. Vampires! He squeaked softly in surprise as he recognized their scent, their movements. Oh yeah, he knew them. You don't live over an Abbey and never meet up with a few vamps, you know. What are they doing? They were fighting the cannibals! The other, a shorter female loaded a long canon and took aim. More people rose from the rubbish heaps. Corpses, the gargoyle recognized, but standing up? The bitten, bleeding woman screamed in fear. Suddenly he was overcome with a strong urge to protect her. Mustering his round belly, he gripped his precious stone arm and jumped.  
  
Arucard was enjoying himself. Two freaks, and a whole lot more ghouls. Exercise. He was taking aim on an undead when a dense stone object launched itself off the roof directly above him. Its face was contorted and it let out the world's most pathetically unterrifying growl. He almost laughed at it himself. In being distracted by this plummeting thing, he had not noticed a ghoul sneaking up behind him. He was tackled full force, and began falling into the path of the oncoming thing. "Oof!" He cried. The thing had landed full on into his stomach, driving him into a trashcan, headfirst. His world turned upside down and dark. He wriggled his legs uselessly, and tried to thrash with arms pinned to his side by cold metal. Seras watched as the creature picked itself up from its most inelegant of roles, and proceeded to club every living (or not) thing in its vicinity with what appeared to be an arm. It barely made it to waist height, but its methods were effective. She stared as all of its victims were slowly pulverized to grave dust. When the only things left moving in the alley were wind transported grave dust and a shivering woman in the corner, the thing stopped its wild battering actions, and panted to regain its breath. He walked over to the cowering woman and was about to speak, but she screamed loudly again, and ran full pelt out of the alley. The creature stopped and looked deeply unhappy. That reaction had hurt, Seras could tell. "Hey." She smiled down at the thing. "You were amazing. What's your name?" The being immediately brightened and drew himself to his full height sucking in his paunch as best he could. "Pug." He replied. "Pug?" Seras smiled at him questioningly. "For 'pug ugly'." He announced proudly. Seras took a long hard look at Pug. She could see why he had been given that name. While he was a full three feet in height, she'd have been surprised if his legs made up a third of that. His belly protruded over his loincloth, some curly pieces of hair collected around his naval. His arms were longer than his body, and would have reached the ground had they not been bent at such an odd angle. The face that stared up at her was as wrinkly as a bulldog's, and the mouth that grinned was wide and had only five pointed teeth in the whole gaping expanse. His eyes, however, were dark and expressive. His fingers, grotesquely formed, were gentle enough when they took the hand Seras offered for Pug to shake. "And I'm Seras." She said in a friendly manner. Pugs grin got even wider, if that was possible, and Seras wondered who had given him such a cruel name. A muffled yelling interrupted her musings. Someone sounded really angry. "Master!" She cried horrified. How could she have forgotten her master? "I'm on it!" Pug reassured her. He sauntered over to where a tightly clad arse was writhing from inside a metal bin, and climbed up onto a low wall so that his feet were just above the rim. With one abnormally long arm, he reached out and caught hold of Alucard's legs. Then he yanked hard and ejected the mortified vampire from the bin, getting one good dose of verbal abuse in the process, before dropping him unceremoniously on the floor. Seras tried hard to conceal a giggle and went to remove a gooey banana peel from her master's black hair. His coat was stained with garbage water, and after he rooted through the detritus at the bottom of the barrel for his hat, he turned to his rescuer. "Who the hell are you?"  
******  
Well there you are, my second chapter completed. I was contemplating having Alucard's pants split and him flashing his underwear to the world, but I figured it would be too degrading. Does Alucard even wear underpants? This may be something I've spent too much time thinking about. Ahh well, maybe I need to write more fanfics to combat the random wonderings of my mind. 


	3. Glompage!

Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifuuuuuuuuuuuu! I may have been watching too much Gravitation. Hang on, is there such a thing as too much Gravitation? Meh. Anyways, after an irritating case of writers block, and an incessant stream of homework from evil maths and physics teachers, I return, to bring you further news of Pug!  
I do not own Hellsing, but I do own Pug! He's mine I tell you, mine! And he's so cute! (In case you haven't noticed, I have a real problem with the definition of cute!)  
  
****************  
  
Alucard was fuming, with himself as much as anything. Why hadn't he just phased himself out of that bin, instead of having to hang around for an ignorant gargoyle to pull him out, and missing all the fun to boot? He growled to himself, gaining a slightly smug grin from Seras. He wasn't so sure he liked this new slightly more confident Seras. He tried to convince himself that he preferred the meek and docile Seras that hung on his every word.  
Seras was chatting inanely to the deformed thing that had followed them throughout the town as they searched for any remaining trace of the freaks, and Alucard hunted desperately for some action. After a good couple of hours the sun began to rise.  
"Er master..." Seras began timidly.  
"What?" his voice was an angry rumble.  
"I don't think we're going to find any more freaks tonight." This statement did nothing to improve Alucard's temper.  
"No." He would have ground his teeth, but fangs kinda get in the way. "I'm going to report in."  
"What about Pug?" Seras asked.  
"What about him?"  
"We can't just leave him here."  
"Hey, I am here you know!" Pug piped up indignantly, "and I don't need your sympat, syta, pity. I can look out for myself." He proceeded to walk out in front of a car.  
Seras had raced over the road, and removed him from the path of the oncoming vehicle before Alucard could even try to stop her. She looked at the small gargoyle who was now fidgeting uncomfortably in her arms. "Sure you can." She said sarcastically. She shot Alucard her best puppy dog eyes look, and even from across the street he saw it with unnatural clarity.  
He sighed. "Fine. But he's your responsibility."  
Seras nodded eagerly, and hurriedly rejoined her master, never letting go of the squirming gargoyle she carried.  
  
Walter was on a mad cleaning spree. The mansion had not been this spotless since, well, since the last time Integra had been away for a long time. He hummed cheerfully as he brandished a pink feather duster with alarming ferocity. You could practically hear him thinking, "Be gone dust, you have no business here!" He was scouring everywhere. When Sir Integra returned from her trip to the Vatican, he knew she would be in a bad mood, and would require his undivided attention. That was why he was hell bent on having the place perfect on her arrival. She would be there shortly, and the vampires had conveniently left on a mission. It was a perfect opportunity, vampires can be so messy...  
He was pausing marginally, maybe to check if he had missed a bit, when the door burst open. An extremely moody Alucard tromped in, dripping spots of disgusting smelling liquid, followed by a relatively clean Seras, and what appeared to be some sort of mobile dirty garden ornament that was trailing a rather muddy length of something. As Alucard disappeared into the shadows of the deep hallway Seras smiled slightly. "Don't even ask." She advised. She grasped the ornament by a limb, of sorts, and followed Alucard. Walter stared at the mess they had left on the floor, sighed, and went to find a mop.  
  
Later that afternoon, when everything was to Walter's satisfaction, his mistress arrived. "Of all the pig-headed, narrow minded, interfering, self inflated PRICKS! I can't believe they'd even suggest that our organisation would try something of that nature. I was dragged all the way to Italy for a scolding? What do they think I am? Just because I have a couple of vampires on staff..." She made an indescribable noise that rang through out the house.  
Walter hurried out of his room, somehow maintaining a calm air. "Would you care for some tea?"  
Integra massaged the bridge of her nose where her glasses pinched, and screwed up her eyes for a moment. When she reopened them her voice took on its usual icy tone. "Thank you Walter, that would be excellent. And perhaps something for my head?"  
Walter raised an eyebrow, but left without comment. Something must really be plaguing Integra if she actually volunteered herself for medication. He returned with an elegant tray, and carried it to the cool office Integra had retreated to.  
Integra downed the two white pills with a grimace, and sipped at her tea carefully. She laid down the cup, and paced her room. Walter knew better than to ask. He knew when Integra was seething. She took a breath, about to say something, shook her head and resumed pacing. Finally she said, "Walter, what do we know about these renegade attacks on vampires?"  
"Not a lot, Sir Integra, only that they are most common in the north, but they are infrequent at best, and have no pattern."  
"Their methods?"  
"Are questionable. So far we have estimated over twenty unnecessary deaths. We don't know how the vampires are killed, there has never been any evidence of weapons."  
"But there has always been plenty of explosive evidence."  
"Yes Sir, that might account for why we have so little else to go on."  
Integra sat down, and leaned back into her chair, automatically searching for her cigars. "Hmm." She murmured softly as she lit one.  
"I want to find out more about them. I do not want to have to answer to the Vatican ever again. They shouldn't involve themselves in our affairs anyway..." She broke off, her eyes telling that she was giving them a damn good slating in her own head. "How have affairs been over here anyway?"  
"Relatively quiet, you'll be pleased to hear. There was a small spot of freak activity last night, but nothing on the scale that we have seen."  
"I don't like quiet." Integra muttered, her eyes narrowing. "Round here it tends to mean the quiet before the storm."  
  
Seras had sat up for most of the day in her room. She had plopped herself down on her coffin, and flung off her boots. Her feet never ached at the end of a day anymore, but old habits were hard to break. Pug had copied her, diving onto the coffin. It had held for a split second before a tremendous crack, and the wood sagged into two. Pug landed with a bump on the splinters of wood on the floor, and Seras, struggling wildly, entangled herself in the token blanket, and landed on top of the crestfallen gargoyle. He looked completely miserable, until she had started laughing. She had got to know Pug pretty well, and had told him a lot of stories about herself and Alucard. Mainly about Alucard. By the time she had finished, Pug was convinced Alucard was some sort of hero, despite being a vampire. Seras had explained away his foul temper using her own variation on psychoanalysis babble, "he's lonely, he's misunderstood, he hasn't had a whole lot of interaction, so he builds up walls," you know the sort. Pug had drank in her information, and was determined that he needed to apologise for the bin incident.  
  
As the sun set, Integra looked forward to a little chat with Alucard. True he didn't have the reasoning of Walter, but he could be incredibly perceptive, and she was sure he'd like an opportunity to get out of the mansion for a bit... Alucard moved to his master's room at her will. She explained her mission to him, "It's simple, I want information on this new organisation." "And intelligence can't do this because..." "Because I asked you to do it." There was an angry note of finality in that voice. Alucard decided not to press his luck. "As you wish, master." He turned to go, thinking that he would leave the normal way for a change. He opened the door... "ALUCARD!" A large grey boulder hurtled down the hall and bounded into Alucard's middle. (GLOMP!) He collapsed onto the floor, and Integra followed him out of the door anxiously, "What the...?" She goggled at the sight that met her eyes. Alucard, the great, dignified vampire Alucard, was being pinned to the floor by the most hideous creation she had ever seen. It's over long arms were wrapped firmly around his waist, and Alucard was struggling, without much success, to escape their tight grasp. She bit back a giggle. "I don't believe you've introduced me to your friend." She said as expressionlessly as she could manage. Alucard gave her a vitriolic glare. "Pug!" A female voice shouted down the halls. "Pu-ug! Where are you?" "Pug?" Integra glanced at the lump of rock that was now bouncing on a particularly painful region of Arucard's anatomy. He winced at its every movement. Pug was grinning gleefully. "I...came...to...say...I'm...sorry." He said in his childlike voice, pausing for breath with each bounce. "GET OFF ME THEN!" He shouted angrily. Pug chuckled darkly, and slid off the vampire, just as Seras rounded the corner. "There you are." She said happily. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT AYTHING TO DO WITH THAT!" Alucard screamed at Seras. Pug's happy face vanished, and his bottom lip trembled slightly. Integra gave Alucard a nasty look. "Don't shout at him, he only came to apologise." Alucard glared at his master, willing her to not get involved. "I think you should apologise to him now." She continued. That was really cruel. She added in his mind. Even Seras looked disapproving. "Fine." He snarled. "I'm really sorry." Pug failed to see the sarcasm in the vampire's voice, and smiled happily. "That's okay." He grinned, and without warning launched himself onto Alucard's face. (MORE GLOMPAGE!) Alucard staggered under the weight, but somehow kept himself upright. Seras came to his rescue, and removed the gargoyle from Alucard's head. Integra had kept a blank face during the proceedings, but now she smiled the rock in Seras' arms. "Would you like to come and have some cocoa with me on the terrace?" When he nodded emphatically Integra extended the invitation to Seras, and with a parting glare to Alucard, she stalked away, leaving Alucard in no uncertain terms that she was disgusted with him.  
  
******************  
  
Well there you are, another chappy done. I apologise if it doesn't quite make sense, it's way late, and I don't have a great command on grammar or spelling, or sentence structure at the best of times. And now, despite it being the wee hours of the morning, I guess I'd better make a start on my maths homework. I could just not turn up tomorrow, but then I won't be able to get this uploaded. (I don't have the internet at home, I've got to do it at college. Just another sign of my technophobia *sighs*) Anyway, read and review, I want to know who's read it, and what they think. Constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't exactly, but I guess they're accepted too. And yes, I am fully intending this to have an actual plot line at some point (I even know what it's gonna be!). BIG thanks have to go to Anime the Fallen Angel, ShadowYami, and Emerald Fire (all hail!) as it was down to them that I got interested in anime in the first place, and without the help of Anime the Fallen Angel, this fic would never have materialised (and even if it had, I couldn't get it on the net, just one of the drawbacks of being the worlds biggest technophobe). Oops, rambling. See you all next chapter, if I haven't scared you off by then! 


	4. The Portal Opens

Mercury: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  
  
Maths tutor: "And so we will continue our interesting work on the coefficient of restitution. Now, who has been doing their homework?"  
  
Mercury: yawns and settles head on desk  
  
Maths tutor: "Rachel, perhaps you would care to give me the formula for e?"  
  
Mercury: thinks I hate that name, I hate maths, I hate the coefficient of restitution. I wish I could spark you. smiles sweetly "The coefficient of restitution is defined as the speed of separation of two bodies divided by the speed of approach."  
  
Maths tutor: "Very good. Now if we all turn to page 245, we can work our way through exercise 5B." promptly exits classroom, probably for some Prozac  
  
Mercury: snore  
  
Just in case you are wondering, this explains my lack of update. You try sitting through this for 8 hours a day, and then being "creative" at the end of it. It's hard, you know.  
  
By the way, I have changed the way this looks, because some people told me it was difficult to read.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, though I wish I owned Alucard. Just another way I could get back at maths tutors...  
  
Slime dribbled down the walls of a long forgotten sewer. The occasional drip echoed eerily around the walls. It had been silent down here for decades. A rhythmic splashing informs the walls that they are no longer alone. A squat mass of black robes swirled over the remnant puddles, the face obscured by a deep hood. It carried an ancient looking staff of finely worked bronze coloured metal. The stone perched atop its splendour gave off a faint blue glow that was rapidly getting brighter. The figure was using it as a sort of homing beacon. It continued down the long dormant tunnels, sniffing disdainfully at the sweet odour of decaying waste, following the pulsing light.  
  
A flash of blindingly bright light informed the bearer of the staff that they had arrived. Quickly they withdrew a dark cloth bag from inside the folds of its cloak. It drew a circle around itself of salt. The water seemed to melt from inside. It stationed candles at five points around the circle, and lit them with a calm, purposeful air. Intricate designs of salts and powders were sewn on the floor. Incantations were muttered. A small statue of Hectate was placed on the circumference of the circle, at the northernmost point.  
  
A decorative knife was drawn from the bag. Following the perimeter of the circle, the figure wandered around clockwise three times. It drew a large cross on the floor of the circle, and signs for limitations all around said cross. Then it began chanting. Thick, guttural words flooded the tunnel. The high male voice slowly took on a deeper, mesmerising quality. The stone from his staff burned blue one more, and radiated power. The chant took on a more urgent quality. The serene statue of Hectate seemed to come to life for a split second, to scowl menacingly, but it must have been a trick of the light, for it resumed it's initial form almost immediately. The energy coursed around the circle, building, building...  
  
With an ear splitting shriek, the hooded figure drove its staff into the ground, in the centre of the cross. He was flung backwards and slammed against the invisible barriers he had created. For a moment all was still. Then, the cross opened into a never-ending crevasse that seemed deeper than the earth itself. The staff slowly levitated out of the gap, followed by three strikingly beautiful maidens. As one their ethereal lips opened, and a whisper like a breeze fluttered through the pipe. "What is it that you wish of us?"  
  
Alucard gave up on Seras and Integra, enjoying the civilities he had long since forgotten. Tea and biscuits seemed such a waste of time to a vampire. Eternity to live, and not the time for afternoon tea. He took himself down to the where he could watch the troops at the training quarters. He settled himself about four hundred metres away, and sighed, brooding. Unconsciously he shook his head as he realised that the first candidate had missed their shooting target by over an inch.  
  
He felt restless. He wanted to know about the mysterious disappearance of many of the vampire kind. As a member of Hellsing he should be thinking this was a good thing, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something far more terrible had been leashed upon the world. It wasn't as if this new power went up against the most formidable of opponents, but it chose the weaker of its kind, new and isolated. It seemed to be testing its abilities, seeing what it could do. And so far it was unstoppable.  
  
He sat there, in the gathering gloom of an oncoming thunderstorm, and felt a shift in the balance of reality. Somewhere, not far away, a portal had been opened. A portal to the Dark Regions. He suddenly felt an icy trickle of fear down his back. What did this mean?  
  
Seras choked on her tea, shock and fear pulsing through her system. Pug thumped her back enthusiastically, and threw her from the chair. Seras crumpled into a still form, and looked up, eyes wide in panic.  
  
"Seras?" Integra asked concerned.  
  
"Master is... afraid." Seras slumped into unconsciousness.  
  
Deep in the sewers a high cackle erupted from a shadowy figure before the three creatures of amazing beauty. "Find one." His voice was cold with insistence. "Find one and destroy it."  
  
A vampire, newly awakened to his gift, wondered the streets of London. His eyes could see things in the darkness that had never been visible to him in the light. It held special significance to this vampire, as he had been blind when he was bitten. Now his hearing was so supercharged he could pick out shapes from their echoes. But he could see as well. With his eyes. Familiar streets all held fresh discoveries. It was like beginning a new life somewhere else. Which, in fact, it was. He laughed at the irony of it. A new life. Yeah, right.  
  
But he didn't regret it. He had no remorse, no wish for vengeance, as many others that were created without their consent had at first. This was a greatly improved form of existence. If he ever found the vampire that shared his blood with him, he would thank him. But he could hunt him out later. He had all the time in the world, and he wanted to see everything.  
  
He explored the streets, getting used to the way things moved, pulsed with life. It felt weird. He jumped at anything unexpected. A rustling paper bag nearly gave him a coronary, if he still had a working heart of course. Everything was new, he didn't know what his powers could do, what he was capable of. Giggling gleefully, he jumped over a seven foot brick wall with ease. He ran across the rooftops, ecstatic with his new freedom.  
  
It was incredible, a gift so intense he couldn't begin to explain it. And he felt it much more keenly that any other, because of his constrained previous existence. His eyes narrowed at the sight of three beings hovering above the rooftop with him. They were still, and deathly silent, with only their floaty gowns fluttering in the wind. That was when he made his first mistake. He tried to copy them.  
  
He rose a full eight inches above the ground, and spurted on by his success, rose higher, and higher. All three of the mysterious creatures snapped their heads towards him, and slowly drifted over. He then made his second mistake. Believing the creatures to be brethren (maybe they could help him realise his new abilities) he called out a greeting to them, too exhilarated to notice the dead hunger in their eyes.  
  
As they approached, he began to feel uncomfortable, chilled. He worried, did vampires have feelings? He looked at the arriving females. They circled him like predators, waiting, watching. He grew frightened. Their faces intensified with a terrifying emptiness. He made his third mistake. Baring his fangs, and snarling at them, he had barely time to register the fact that their messy tendrils of hair now looked like serpe nts before he plummeted to the ground like a dead weight.  
  
The floating females sent a burst of energy to the stone that called them, which alerted the hooded figure to their progress. Gathering up his bag, he left his hiding place, and inserted a fuse into a small block of plastic explosive. He left it in a perfect place.  
  
A few miles out of the city, Alucard heard the explosion with haunting clarity.  
  
Have a short chapter. Bet you're all confused now, eh? I'll try and get the next chapter posted soon, in order to alleviate (or add to?) the confusion. You should all go thank Anime the Fallen Angel for this. Without her I'd still be lounging on my bed trying to fathom a reason for my existence – a couple of physics exams will do that to a girl. Anyway, she unlike me, hasn't been lazy. If she's posted it, check out SAEM at Hogwarts, or whatever it's called. a) it rocks, b) I'm in it! For now I leave you with this, exams suck, and I suck at them. Thank you and goodnight.  
  
Ooh, if you feel the need to review, I would appreciate it. As I keep saying, I'm a newbie, and my literary skills aint great, so any pointers... 


	5. What was with the explosion?

Mercury: OW!  
  
Pug: (glomp) Hi!  
  
Mercury: sickening crack That would be my ribs.  
  
Pug: Oops, I am sooooo sorry.  
  
Mercury: Yeah cough whatever. Get off me. I'm going to find a hospital. Do the disclaimer.  
  
Pug: Mercury does not own Hellsing, nor me. I am my own property, I glomp who I want.  
  
Mercury: from way in the distance Keep that sort of independent streak up, and I will set Mrs Cain on you (chemistry teacher). She knows what hydrochloric acid does to limestone as well as me.  
  
Pug: Cowers in fear  
  
"Alucard!" Integra's shrill voice rang through the mansion. "Alucard!" She motioned Pug into her private sitting room. The gargoyle had hauled Seras onto his shoulder, and carried her limp body with ease. Integra tapped her foot with mounting impatience as Pug tried to unload Seras gently, and failed miserably. A dull thud informed Integra that Seras had slid to the floor.  
  
She inhaled to call for the insubordinate vampire once again, when he phased through the wall. His glasses hid his eyes, and his expression was unreadable. "Explain." Integra spat as she pointed to Seras.  
  
Alucard shrugged. "She's no longer accustomed to feeling fear. It'll wear off." He added unfeelingly.  
  
"And why did she feel fear, exactly?"  
  
Alucard made no comment.  
  
"She said you were afraid. Is that true?"  
  
"Couldn't you tell for yourself?" He retorted infuriatingly.  
  
Integra's eyes narrowed in anger. "If you were afraid, it means something bad, and I want to know what."  
  
Alucard shrugged again. "I might have had a fleeting moment of emotion, but it passed quickly."  
  
"Alucard, this is a damn sight more important than your pride, now tell me, were you afraid?"  
  
He returned her gaze evenly, but offered no sound.  
  
"Fine." Integra sounded exasperated. "Just tell me what you think you felt, if you felt anything tonight."  
  
"I felt that the Dark Regions had been opened." He reported.  
  
A tiny gasp made them realize that they were not alone. Pug was staring at them. "It's not, how? You need, and there aren't any, I don't, no..."  
  
"Thank you for that eloquent interruption Pug." Said Integra, her voice icy. "Now, would you translate that, and one of you tell me what the Dark Regions are, and why a portal to them is bad."  
  
"The Dark Regions is a form of limbo, and many of the monsters of myth were banished to this plane rather that being vanquished." Alucard explained patiently. "Initially it was fairly easy for just about any one with enough magical training to be able to open them, but after several uprisings of these creatures, caused by improper opening or closing methods, it was deemed to dangerous for the knowledge to be common. The dimension was sealed so that it can only be opened by one possessing a staff of the Soulless, a select group of people, sworn to protect the secret of the portals. They passed the staff, and the incantations to open and close the portals through generations, by word of mouth only."  
  
Integra shivered. Pug however, shook his head vehemently. "No!' He said. "The last staff was broke. The last Soulless dead. Granite said so. He said they had served, they would be rewarded. Granite said..."  
  
"I agree a Soulless wouldn't do this. It is not in their nature. They were always overcautious, and wouldn't pass their information to their children if they thought they would abuse it. This is something else."  
  
"Why would this concern us?" Integra asked.  
  
Alucard shot her a dark look. "Because anything could have been released from there, and we don't know if it has been returned."  
  
A figure scurried into the blast scene, scooping up blood red charred pieces of rock. His hand rested on one piece about head sized that had the engravings of a face on it. An image that was identical to that of the fallen vampire. "Never got a chance to realize your power, did you?" His tone was mocking. He grinned as the stone face slowly contorted into an expression of horror. "Don't worry, my little 'vampire', I know just how to dispose of you..."  
  
Assembled in front of Integra was an army of neat, well-organized troops. They were gazing apprehensively at the figure cloaked in dark red that was standing idly on her right. "Now, it is important for you to get out there, and collect information. I want to be as discreet as possible. Whoever it is out there, is likely to be dangerous. Godspeed." With that the troops marched out of the gates.  
  
"Alucard?"  
  
"Yes master."  
  
"Seras isn't going with you tonight."  
  
"I was aware of that master."  
  
"Use any means necessary to track down information." Seeing the wolfish grin across Alucard's face, she added in an undertone, "And be careful.'  
  
Alucard traveled the streets. A light drizzle began to fall, covering the world in a film of water. Alucard used every sense to try to find something, anything. He moved silently through the gentle rivulets of water. An almighty splash told him he was not alone. Sinking into the shadows, he drew his gun, and held it loosely in his hand. Heavy footsteps indicated the approach of his follower.  
  
Like lightning he snaked his free hand out and yanked his follower into the darkness. He aimed his gut right between the middle of two wide set, scrunched up eyes by reflex. A soft whimper gave his pursuers identity.  
  
"Pug, what are you doing here?" His voice was halfway patient, for Alucard.  
  
"I thought you might need my help."  
  
"I work alone."  
  
"I know, but, every one says I'm too little." He said forlornly. Alucard looked at him for a long moment, his expression conveying none of his inner turmoil.  
  
Finally, grudgingly, he sighed, "All right, but you had better do everything I tell you, immediately, no questions asked." Pug nodded his agreement. Silently Alucard thought, "What have I got myself into?"  
  
In a cold storage unit, a figure was carefully pouring a large amount of chemicals marked corrosive into a large glass bell jar. He carefully diluted this with water. "There.' He stood up, satisfied. "That should take its time disintegrating anything."  
  
He heaved the stone head of the vampire out of his bag. "As a vampire, a member of the true undead, you wouldn't let a little thing like being turned into stone destroy you." He remarked conversationally. "No, you could continue to exist in this state forever. Or you could be restored. I won't let that happen. Instead you can be scattered, and my ingenious mix of chemicals can consume your head. You will suffer for lifetimes, for longer, as this slowly eats you, destroys you. And you will feel it all. And it will hurt. Oh well. Enjoy." Then, with a malicious laugh, he dropped the head into the solution.  
  
Does this clear up any of the confusion? No? Shame. Heehee. Anyway, I have now been in college for six hours, and I am one of five people in here. Is it time to go? I think so.  
  
By the way, I got VERY few reviews for my last chappy, and I was way disappointed. All the effort for so few comments. Sniffle. Just joking! But hey, if you do fancy leaving a review, I'd be real grateful. If you are gonna criticise, don't be rude. Criticism I can take, but I hate rudeness, growl... 


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